Federal Government

Jan. 21, 1977: Carter pardons Vietnam-era draft dodgers

On Sept. 8, 1974, barely a month into his happenstance presidency, Gerald Ford granted a full and unconditional pardon to his disgraced predecessor, Richard Nixon. Ford reasoned that a criminal trial would cause “prolonged and divisive debate over the propriety of exposing [Nixon] to further punishment and degradation.” In a…

Jan 1, 2014 7:20 AM CST

Despite more nominations to federal bench, Obama trails Bush in ‘imprint’ on judiciary

President Barack Obama was expected to leave his legacy on the federal courts through judicial appointments. But, although the two-term Democrat has made more nominations than his predecessor, George W. Bush, he may not have as much of an impact due to confirmation contention and inheriting a larger percentage of…

Dec 31, 2013 7:20 PM CST

Federally indicted lawyer accused of telling clients to pay him in cash calls case ‘a DOJ vendetta’

Accused of telling clients to pay him in cash and wire transfers routed to his American Express account, a New York lawyer is calling the federal indictment against him for allegedly failing to report and pay taxes on $3 million in income “a DOJ vendetta.” The Department of Justice, says…

Dec 31, 2013 4:40 PM CST

Obama presses military leaders to deal with sexual assaults

President Obama is giving military leaders one year to show they are adequately dealing with sexual assaults in the armed forces, the Associated Press reports. If they cannot show progress, the president said he will consider reforms to “eliminate this crime from our military ranks.” Various approaches to this are…

Dec 20, 2013 7:00 PM CST

Obama commutes sentences of eight crack cocaine offenders, cites ‘unfair system’

Eight crack cocaine offenders imprisoned for at least 15 years will be released as a result of action by President Obama on Thursday. Obama said in a statement that he commuted the prison terms of the prisoners, who were sentenced under an “unfair system,” according to The BLT: The Blog…

Dec 20, 2013 4:52 PM CST

NSA phone-data collection program likely unconstitutional, judge says

A National Security Agency program that collects information from nearly all telephone calls made to or from the United States is probably unconstitutional, a federal judge held Monday. In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon of Washington, D.C., said the NSA program appears to run afoul of the…

Dec 16, 2013 8:50 PM CST

Artist sues US over Statue of Liberty stamp, says it depicts his Vegas sculpture, not the original

An artist who sculpted a replica of the Statue of Liberty that appears outside a Las Vegas casino-hotel has sued the U.S. Postal Service for copyright infringement. The USPS used a photograph of the Sin City statue’s head, not the original lady in New York Harbor, on a “forever” stamp,…

Dec 3, 2013 8:31 PM CST

Senate changes filibuster rules, clearing the way for confirmation of stalled judicial nominees

The U.S. Senate has voted to change its filibuster rules to ease the way for confirmation of the president’s judicial and executive branch nominations. The vote to approve the so-called nuclear option was 52-48, report the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN and the Los Angeles Times. As a…

Nov 21, 2013 5:47 PM CST

50 years after assassination of President Kennedy, experts debate exactly who was to blame

Almost 50 years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, as he was traveling through Dallas in an open car as part of a motorcade on Nov. 22, 1963, there is still disagreement about who was responsible for the crime that shocked the country. The Warren Commission said Lee…

Nov 21, 2013 12:46 AM CST

Is Obama’s health-law fix constitutional?

President Obama’s decision to delay enforcement of the health-care law to allow consumers to keep their cancelled policies has raised the question: Is his action constitutional? Some legal observers think the answer is no, report the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.) and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).…

Nov 18, 2013 1:59 PM CST

Infomercial king Kevin Trudeau guilty of contempt for violating FTC consent decree

A federal jury in Chicago has reached a verdict almost immediately after a trial concluded Tuesday in a criminal contempt case against a diet book author and television infomercial king. Kevin Trudeau, 50, is guilty of violating a decade-old consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission over his marketing of…

Nov 12, 2013 9:29 PM CST

Reuters: Snowden accessed some classified US info by persuading NSA coworkers to provide passwords

Even at one of the top U.S. security watchdogs, some workers may not be following basic rules to safeguard employer data. Edward Snowden, who was granted temporary asylum in Russia after exposing secret mass surveillance programs he learned about while working as a contract employee for the National Security Agency,…

Nov 8, 2013 9:55 PM CST

Texas sues EEOC over federal guidance on employer use of arrest and conviction info

The state of Texas has sued the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in federal court in Lubbock over enforcement guidance provided by the EEOC in April 2012 concerning the use of arrest records and criminal convictions when making employment decisions. The EEOC says that relying on such records can have…

Nov 5, 2013 4:45 PM CST

Federal nominees turn to law firms to play vetting game

With the tens of thousands of volunteers and donors in presidential campaigns, it’s no secret that many expect appointment to a plum post if their candidate wins. And some seek out lawyers who specialize in getting them through the screening process. “We start getting calls before elections, including from some…

Nov 1, 2013 6:30 AM CDT

GOP senators block DC Circuit nominee; will Democrats change filibuster rules?

President Obama’s nomination of Patricia Ann Millett to a federal appeals court was blocked today when the Senate vote to end a Republican filibuster fell five votes short. A partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Millett was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of…

Oct 31, 2013 6:07 PM CDT